Kathleen Dawson using Olympic gold medal as a reminder she belongs after heroic fightback from injury

Kathleen Dawson didn’t give her Olympic gold a lucky kiss before heading to Paris. But while that Tokyo 2021 gong is out of sight the Scots star admits it is never out of mind as proof she can shine on the big stage.

Backstroke specialist Dawson swam the first leg of Team GB’s stunning 4x100m mixed medley relay success three years ago despite suffering from an agonising bulging disc in her back. The 26-year-old from Kirkcaldy insists she is in far better condition this time round as she prepares for the outrageously competitive individual 100m backstroke against the likes of US star Regan Smith and Australia’s Kaylee McKeown - all the while keeping her fingers crossed for a relay spot again.

Asked if she gave her 2021 medal a peck, she said: “No, not a wee kiss! But definitely I have reminded myself it’s who I am - and that I should take a lot of confidence and pride going into these Games.

“I definitely come into this in the best position I have been in the last few years. I’m swimming the fastest I have swam in a few years and more consistently. The fastest seven backstrokers in the 100m history are going to be in the race, it’s incredible. I’m just going in looking for a season’s best and enjoy myself.”

Getting back to an Olympics is a source of pride for Dawson after fighting through a vigorous rehab having gritted her teeth through the pain in Tokyo.

Speaking from the Team GB prep camp in Reims, she said: “I had a bulging disc in my lower spine. I was getting sciatica down both my legs and it felt like electricity running down them with sharp shooting pains in specific movements. My underwater kicks and going round a turn would give me those pains.

“It was the swimming that was giving me the most pain. I could have